Improvement in bee-hives



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' Bee-Hives. A N01 136,933, Patented March18v, 1873.

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JOSEPH NEWMAN AND PATENT GEEIOE NOAH BROWN, OE EoSsvrLLE, ILLINOIS.

l IMPROVEMENT IN BEE-HIVES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 136,933, dated March18, 1873.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, JOSEPH NEWMAN and NOAH BROWN, of Rossville, in thecounty of Vermillion and State of' Illinois, have invented a new andImproved Bee-Hive, of.' which the following is a specification:

Figure lis a front elevation of our improved bee-hive. Fig. 2 is avertical section thereof on the line c o, Fig. 1.

spending parts.

Our invention relates tov improvements in bee-hives 5 and consists inproviding the lower bee-entrance with slides or gates, so arranged thatit may be contracted vertically as well as horizontally, for excludingrobber-bees and preventing the escape of the queen.

In the accompanying drawing, the letter A represents the case of thehive, made in prismatic form, of` suitable Size, preferably, however,eighteen inches high and twelve by thirteen horizontal area, insidemeasure. Of this size the same would accommodate eight frames B B,measuring one and one-halt' inch from center to center. If the ,numberis increased add one and one-half inch to the width of the hive for eachadditional frame. The top l of the hive is hinged thereto, and can beswung open when desired. l The back b and side of the hive are alsohinged, and can be swung open. The hive is supported partly by themoth-trap (l, and in part by legs d d, which are fastened to it byscrews. The mothtrap C can be removed, and the legs d al can be turnedvertically on the side of the hive by removing the upper screw of each,when desired to house or transport, so it will occupy less room thanordinary hives of equal capacity. In front the vhive has two entrance`openings, e and f, one, e, directly above the bottom, and the other, j',inline with the lower part of the honey-frames D. The bees are .thusenabled to enter the upper honey-department without having to climb toit within the hive, thereby saving considerable time, as they can iiyseveral hundred yards in the time in which they could climb the hive.This entrance f is provided with a tin slide, z', so that it can bepartly or entirely closed at pleasure. The lower opening e can be moreto guide the pin or less closedV by a slide, g, moving horizontally, andalso by a slide, L, movin gvertically.

he vertical slide h is used to so reduce the opening at the swarmingseason as to prevent the escape of the queen-bec 5 also at other timesto exclude the drones, always, however, permitting free entrance andexit of the working-bees. The slide gis used to so reduce the length ofthe opening e that the Same can be more easily defended The moth-trap (lcan be entered through two inclined openings, jj, which extend from abeveled piece on the top board of the trap. The moth-millers, beingresisted by the bees when attempting to enter the hive at e, iind theopenings j j, and descend intothe trap, which they find light, owin g toa pane of glass in front of the trap. Then they can be destroyed bysuitable means. In case of' superabuudance oi' drone-bees, the moth-trapmay be converted into a drone-trap by enlarging the Openings jj. Bycontracting the entrance e, the drones, being excluded from thehive,pass through the openingj into the trap, Where they can be destroyed; ifworking-bees should opening m, which can be contracted by a gate, n, inorder to retain the drones. The frames B are set up within the hive sideby side; one upright, o, of each extends up near to the top of the hive,and is by a loop, p, connected with a pin, g, that is secured in theside of the hive.

he lower end of the same upright has a projectin g pin, r, which entersa socket in the bottom of the hive, which has a groove, Fig. 2, T intoit, and thus enable the frames to be quickly adjusted in place. theframeB is actuallyhin ged, but can be withdrawn from above withoutdifficulty. Each socket is provided with a groove to facilitate theentering of socket. The upper honeyframes D are, re-

spectively, rested upon the frames B, as shown in Fig. 2,

and 3. The fram es D can thus also be removed from above. The upper Slatof each frame B is made so much wider than the remaining that at thatheight the are conparts of said frames, spaces between the series offrames tracted,formingnerrowthroats,throughwhich claim as new and d.siret) secure the Working-bees can pass, but not thequecn. The latter willthus be effectue-Uy excluded from the honey-frames, which will bepreserved for the purpose for which they were originally intended. Inordinary hives the queen-bees often enter the honey-frames and depositeggs therein. The top slet of each of the frames B and D are providedunderneath with a small triangular slet for a comb-guide.

Having thus described our invention, we

